"Why Britam backed out of Uganda, Tanzania oil pipeline insurance deal"

Insurance firm Britam has backed out of a deal to underwrite the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) after the firm’s own internal environmental and social risk assessment revealed that its participation in the $5 billion project violated its backers’ policies and performance standards.

Details of the Britam withdrawal emerged in a response filed on November 8 to a complaint raised last year with the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman – an independent agency of the World Bank – which revealed that Britam turned away from the Eacop after conducting a review of the environmental and social risks. “There are indications of a plausible link to harm or risk of harm to the complainant related to the sub-project,” reads the response by the Inclusive Development International in October 2021, which questioned the International Finance Corporation (IFC), financing Britam, one of Eacop insurers. The IFC is a World Bank affiliate.